Hope for Humanity's Freedom
by Pretty Jacque
Summary: The hottest anime of 2013, Free!-Iwatobi Swim Club, Attack on Titan, and Dangan Ronpa, have been combined into one solid story. All of the characters are in one setting, with one plot and one goal. Is their hope strong enough to free themselves from humanity's enslavement? Or will despair keep them caged in from the waters of the world? [No parody or crack; serious]
1. Chapter 1

Well, here it is! The three-way crossover I said I'd do. Now, here are few things I need to point out:

1) SnK is set in a dystopian setting (and technically so is Dangan Ronpa), but for the sake of story purposes, some things will be advanced while others aren't. This was already seen in canon SnK (able to develop 3DMG yet they still use quills). So expect a mixture of modern day/futuristic/post apocalyptic things.

2) This is based on my knowledge of the entire SnK, Free!, and Dangan Ronpa ANIME. I have never played the Dangan Ronpa game, read the manga, played Super Dangan Ronpa 2, read High*Speed!, or finished read the entire manga series of SnK. Only things available in the anime will be here with the occasional exception of future SnK manga bits since the anime is incomplete but the manga continues.

3) While reading this, look for key words that are in the canon anime such as "mystery" and "freedom" as they can pinpoint to certain characters, themes, and genres.

* * *

"The water is alive. Once you dive in, it will immediately bare its fangs and attack. But, we shouldn't fear the water. Don't resist it. Thrust your fingers into the surface and carve an opening. Then you slide your body through that opening. Moving your arms, your head, your chest..."

-Haruka Nananse

"And yet still, we lived in fear of the Water Titans, and were disgraced to live in these cages we called walls. I want to see and understand the world outside. I don't want to die inside these walls without knowing what's out there!"

-Eren Jaeger

"If the world outside of these walls is void of hope, and if fear is contagious, then I'll just have to infect everyone with my hope. Living in fear really isn't living at all."

-Makoto Naegi

* * *

[Rin Matsuoka]

My father was in the Iwatobi Scouting Legion.

He went outside of the walls to bring water back to our people. He always left with a smile on his face and laughter in his throat. That smile was enough to make us think his job was safe. No matter how much we knew about what went on in that military, we always felt this assurance that he would come home safe and sound each and every day. He even promised us that one day, he would bring us enough water to make us a pool. We always thought it was silly how much he talked about swimming, Mom especially. Water was already a treasured necessity. Why would you want to squander it by lounging in it without the intent of bathing? I miss that man's fanciful thinking. Whether he was joking for the sake of an optimistic atmosphere or if he was dead serous, I still miss his words.

Gou and I were sitting at the table, waiting for him to come back home from his expedition. There was a knock at the door, but Mom got to it before either of us could jump out of our chairs.

Instead of our father, Mom opened the door to a solemn blond man I would soon come to know as Commander Erwin Smith. He didn't say much, or at least much that my young mind could understand, but when Mom dropped to her knees in a fit of sobbing, I realized what had happened.

The Colossal Water Titan took my father.

Dad was gone.

* * *

Narrator: "The year is 3850. Water Titans have pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. They are giants born from the oceans and other bodies of water around the world. As global warming increases and bodies of water expand, the population of Water Titans increase. Their bodies resemble those of what legends call "sea monsters" or "mutants" with the exception of their incredible height. The only way to kill them is to sever the nape of their necks. Any other injury is simply regenerated. As they show no signs of requiring nutrients of any kind, why they consume humans is a mystery. Because of their existence, humanity now struggles to preserve as much water as possible. Due to this struggle, they've made wide advancements in technology wherever it was needed such as ways to recycle liquids into distilled water, but quie possibly the best invention was the formation of the military police."

* * *

As a result, we had to abandon our foremost wall: Wall Maria. Mankind's territory has shrunk down to the limits of Wall Rose, within which we stand presently. Three Academies stand to prepare children for the three divisions of the military.

[Rin Matsuoka]

**"Those who graduate in Iwatobi will gather water from outside the walls."**

"Even as we speak, it's very plausible that this Colossal Water Titan might tear down the wall and come at us any second now. When that time comes, your duty will be to assist the military, sacrificing your lives to oppose the titan threat. You will sacrifice your all!"

A simultaneous "Yes sir!" resonated amongst the group as we saluted the man.

"Today, you have completed your military training. I will now announce the eight best among those who obtained satisfactory results. Step forward at the mention of your name. First: Rin Matsukoka."

I fought the smile that teased at my lips as I stepped forward. Being included in the eight best was gratifying on its own, but to be awarded the first brought a new flurry of euphoria into my chest. "I'm following the very same footsteps as my father. Right here, right now..."

Unfortunately, it seems like he has to take that away from me too.

"Second: Haruka Nanase."

A burning sting punctured that euphoria in my chest "I couldn't have heard that 's no way he…"

My thought went incomplete as the sober facial profile of the blue-eyed boy came into my peripheral vision.

Yes, during his three years of training, I was well aware of Haruka's presence. I even remember the day he arrived. Of course with Haru's introverted personality, he didn't make the first greeting when he saw me. I've known him for so long now. I could read him like a book. I knew no "hello" was Haruka's way of anticipating my greeting first. However, I had no intention of friendly gestures. Ignoring him became harder upon realizing Nagisa and Makoto had tagged along. Damn, of course he had to bring the entire crew with him. Open up old wounds, why don't you?

"How could this be?" I thought incredulously, struggling to keep his eyes forward "After all of these years, I thought I'd be able to escape that damned face…and then, here he is once again. By my side."

"Third: Seijuro Mikoshiba. Fourth: Makoto Tachibana…"

I had just net Seijuro upon enrolling in Iwatobi. He always had an air of leadership I liked. He wasn't obnoxious with it; he knew what he was doing. I followed him wherever I saw fit.

Makoto. I thought I'd see you with Haruka. I knew you were practically no one without him, but to think you'd even follow him into the military defense? This is a new level of devotion.

"Fifth: Nagisa Hazuki. Sixth: Gou Matsuoka…"

Yes, my sister Gou decided to join with me. You'd think being her big brother, I would've given her hell to keep her from doing so, but I'm not that type of guy. She's her own woman. If she's made a decision, I shouldn't stop her, especially if I'm making the same decision.

Nagisa was always a hyper one. The runt of the group yet unexpectedly mischievous. He was really hard to ignore when I was here. He practically yipped at me like a puppy for the first few weeks. It was hard to imagine him being a disciplined soldier, but the kid was full of surprises. He played hard and worked just as hard.

"Seventh: Rei Ryugazaki. And Eigth: Aiichiro Nitori."

Nitori was like my replacement Nagisa, but instead of being hyper with energy and life, Nitori was flighty and vulnerable. It was almost painful to think of him as a soldier, especially with how much he relied on Seijuro and I in these three years. Thankfully, we were able to get him to pull through. I don't know how I could live with myself if he didn't make it.

Rei…hm, that's weird. I've noticed this guy's been hanging around Haru and the others. It's almost as if he's…their replacement me.

[Armin Arlert]

**Those who graduate in 104th Trainee Squad will be sent out to fight Water Titans head-on.**

I knew what Eren was thinking.

He and the other nine soldiers had just been called as the ten best in their team. I could see the three years of hell didn't matter to him throughout the entirety of his military training. He was willing to go through anything if it got him any closer to his goal. Mikasa was impassive to the struggle too. Just as long as she was there to be by Eren's side, nothing hurt her.

And then there was me; the slacker, the hold-up.

That's why I wasn't called up.

The friends I grew up with and vowed to follow throughout the entirety of my life had moved up while I was still on this mediocre level. My weakness had held me back once again in life. In that moment, I questioned myself. Did I really vow to follow them or did I just lack the independence to make another choice?

[Sayaka Maizono]

**Those who graduate in Hope's Peak will leave the walls to investigate and study Water Titan's territory.**

"Tomorrow, you will apply for your assignments and today marks the end and the disbanding of Hope's Peak Academy training. Over!"

"Yes sir!"

A wave of anguish fell over me and I looked down to my folded hands, not willing to let the humiliation in my eyes show to the others as they dismissed.

Makoto Naegi. Kyouko Kirigiri. Byakuya Togami. Touko Fukuwa. Yasuhiro Hagakure. Aoi Asahina.

And where do you see my name? Nowhere.

"I'm sorry you didn't get called."

Naegi's comforting hand had taken place on my shoulder, but that wasn't enough.

I sighed, prepared to give a generic "It's alright." answer, but I knew I could always be truthful with Naegi "It's just…I worked so hard for this. I really wanted to be included with you."

"Well, not being called as the top six doesn't mean you weren't good," he said "I'm sure had it been the top seven, you would have been included."

I always loved Naegi's simplistic way of words. Sometimes in a complicated adult world, such innocence was needed.

* * *

[omniscient]

"Haru-chan!" Nagisa's voice rang the moment the teens entered the dining hall.

Haruka was prepared for the strawberry blonde's embrace on his back. He never minded how much attention his public display of affection brought.

"Can you believe we made it into the top eight?!" he jeered "And Mako-chan and Rei-chan too?"

"Quite a coincidence," said Haruka, simply patting Nagisa's hand, which decided to take residence on his shoulder. He then spotted Makoto in the distance, waving them over as he had saved a seat for them in the sea of graduated students. Haruka wanted to gesture towards the lunch line, but ceased his hand halfway through its journey upon seeing the brunette had already gotten lunch for them.

"Of course," thought Haruka.

Once he sat beside his friend, his first words were "You didn't have to get our lunches for us."

"That's okay," replied Makoto, passing the plates over to the two boys "Have either of you seen Rei?"

Nagisa, now with a mouthful of bread, answered "No, you haven't seen him? I hope he didn't get lost in the crowd."

"Lost in the crowd?" repeated Makoto "Were there really that many of us?"

Haruka glanced out into the large, wide open dining hall, which was just large enough to hold all three academies' graduating classes and still have a good amount of empty tables left.

"Oh…" said the brunette, following his friend's glance. A brief chuckle escaped his throat "I'm sure he'll find his way here."

Over on Nagisa's end of the table, a brunette girl with a ponytail found her brown eyes wandering onto his plate.

"Uhm…excuse me?" she asked, gaining his attention immediately "Are you going to eat that?" she pointed towards the untouched baked potato on Nagisa's plate.

"No," he said, then smiled "You can have it if you trade me your bread roll."

The girl beamed and gladly took hold of her bread "Deal."

After the trade, Nagisa paused in the midst of his first bite of the bread. He swallowed and turned back to the girl "Haven't I seen you before?"

"Hm?" replied the girl, mouth full of potato.

"High ponytail, brown eyes, round face," Nagisa shamelessly pointed out. He paused afterwards, then gasped "I know! You're Potato Girl!"

"Eh?!" the girl nearly choked before regaining herself and saying "How did you know about that? You weren't in the 104th trainee squad!"

"Word gets around," said the strawberry blonde with his signature smile "Well what's your real name then?"

The girl was a little caught off-guard that Nagisa had switched gears so quickly "Sasha. Sasha Brause."

"I'm Nagisa Hazuki," he then replied.

Sasha was again caught slightly off-guard. She hadn't met someone so open and eccentric in her three years here and yet tonight, she meets this strawberry blond boy who may have just as much energy as she does. Sasha was so used to being the oddball that she wasn't sure how to react to this young boy. Perhaps she could just be…herself?

"Pleased to meet you," she said with a smile.

"Same here," he replied.

Meanwhile, in another sector of the dining hall, things weren't going as peacefully as most would have wished.

"I wish I could work in a team near the Inner District like you guys," said a young man next to Jean "I'd be surprised in you chose to work in any other team."

"Huh?" Jean said with more pride than question "Of course, why do you think I aimed for the top ten anyway? You know they open up more Inner District teams to you if your skills are great."

To this, his freckled friend beside him, Marco, added "I know that's where I'm headed," his eyes drifted off with a dreamy look as he said "Just think; an opportunity to work close to the king. It's such an honor…" he ended the statement with a sip of his beverage but would soon regret it when a rough pat on the back from Jean sent him into a sputtering mess.

"Don't tell me you're going all noble on us again, Marco," said the brunette in a tone that was little too loud "Tell 'em the real reason. You wanna live in the safety of the Inner Walls, don't you?"

With one last cough in a futile effort to force the liquid out of his windpipe, Marco raised a finger to initiate his turn to speak only to be interrupted by Jean's even louder jeer "If you're a great soldier, they wanna keep you alive. So of course they open more spots for us in the Inner District. We can finally escape this shit hole that's the Outer Walls, at last! In the Inner District, a life of peace and comfort awaits us!"

Heat rushed to the very tips of the freckled boy's ears as he felt discouraging eyes burning their gazes into them and heard the totally justified mumbles of negativity.

"Sh-Show some decency," he tried to scold Jean "I, for one-"

"Ah, my bad. Sorry about that. My fault, Mr. Honor Student," Jean then gestured his mug at the others "But what do you guys think?"

Marco's fingers threading through his black hair as a stress-induced headache began to form.

"Wouldn't you all prefer to live the nice, effortless lifestyle within the Inner Walls?" continued Jean "Wouldn't you love to have everything you ever wanted serve-"

"-ed on a silver platter?"

Jean's arm holding the mug faltered upon hearing the bespectacled, blue-eyed boy with faded blond hair complete his statement with a condescendingly mature tone.

To finish off the gesture, the boy adjusted his white-framed glasses with his middle finger "Funny. It's almost as if you were just about to say that the wealthy don't have to work to get their riches. You think those golden spoons just magically appear every morning on the kitchen table?"

At this moment several people were looking at the intelligent monologue taking place, whether they realized it was aimed towards Jean or not. Wise words were always a way to gain an audience.

"The fortunate may not do the labour you would call physical," continued the boy "But they do work…with their minds, with their mental strength. A rich man's game is no place for the weak in the same way as the battle field outside of these walls don't."

Jean put down the mug, and with a defeated smile, he said "Sorry, did I offend you?-" obviously not meaning it "You're from the Inner Walls, aren't you?"

"Byakuya Togami, the last heir to the Togami bloodline."

He was testing Jean's intelligence. If the brunette had the appropriate amount of street smarts, he would know of the surname, but instead, he proved his lack of intelligence by showing no recognition in his eyes. To this, Togami smirked and took a prideful sip of his drink in victor while Jean sat back down in defeat.

* * *

Narrator: "Highs and lows such as this are just barely the beginning of the long tale ahead. As our characters of three different worlds come together, they will engage in more bonds and challenges than their canon origins could have never given them. They think they all fight for one goal, but will soon discovers they fight for many of all kinds. They think they only have one enemy, but will soon find more in the most unexpected of places. They think the answer is simple, but there may not be an answer at all. Are you ready to follow them? To embark on this journey with them? Are you ready to face the challenges up ahead and step up to the plate? Good. Because our characters aren't the only ones who need to prepare for the battle…"

* * *

As our little narrator said just now, this is only the tip of the iceberg. To be more specific: nearly 10% of the actual beginning. We have three powerful story plots combined into one, tailored and trimmed, added with an expanded cast with very dynamic characters. This story is NOT going to be simple. If anything gets confusing, feel free to ask any type of question. Never think "oh that's a stupid question. Never. If I don't answer, that only means it's going to be explained in the future chapters. Even though this is just the first chapter, I really hope it lives up to the hype it created and I'd like to thank you all in advance for reading it. :)


	2. Chapter 2

[I'm mad, how dare they not save my proofreading?]

Seeing how complicated this story might end up being, I'm going to put "In Case You Didn't Know" explanations at the beginning of each chapter to elaborate easter eggs from the chapter prior.

-The academies correlate with the main plots of the anime. The characters in Dangan Ronpa try to solve the mysteries of the murders, so their job here is to solve the mystery of the Water Titans. SnK is, of course, still fighting the Water Titans. Free! was difficult to create because the only physical action in the canon anime is swimming so I settled for making them water gatherers.

-In SnK, they had a top ten, but I chose the Dangan Ronpa characters in a top six because those are the only characters that live in the canon. And of course Free! was chosen by the main cast.

* * *

[Eren Jaeger]

Last night after dinner, Mikasa and I- no wait, Armin and Mikasa- huh? Wasn't Jean…? I…I can't remember what happened last night… Why is that? Whatever, I've got a big day ahead of me and there's no time to be questioning last night's events if they weren't important enough to remember.

This morning, I met these two girls from Hope's Peak, Sakura and Asahina. I could tell a lot of people felt intimidated by Sakura's appearance. She was very muscular and had pretty chiseled features for a teenage girl. She seemed like an equal match for Reiner. But the moment she and Asahina approached me, I could tell this girl was nothing to be afraid of. If you ask me, she seemed pretty level-headed, like Mikasa. Even the subtle ways she looked over Asahina reminded me that of Mikasa.

"I gotta admit," I said "This may be the outermost town, but it does have more people than before."

We were walking down the public streets, on our way to our posts on top of the wall. We were supposed to be preparing the cannons.

"That's because nothing happened in five years," said Asahina with enthusiasm "It may not be as grand as it was beforehand, but it's getting there."

"The wall's strength has been improved since then," added Sakura, who walked between Asahina and I.

"Now maybe the Colossal Water Titan won't come anymore," replied Asahina, flashing us a bright smile.

I couldn't help the groan that escaped my throat "Don't be so naive, you silly couple…!"

To this, both girls burst into laughter (if you can call the subtle snickering behind Sakura's smirking lips "bursting").

"Couple?!" laughed Asahina "You really see us that way, Eren?"

I ran a hand through my bangs as heat rose to my neck at the realization of what had just left my mouth "Oh give me a break…forget I said anything."

* * *

[Eren Jaeger]

"Huh? You're going to try to get into one of the teams from the outer walls?" I stopped the motion of my arms, which were currently cleaning one of the cannons out "Connie, you're number eight, aren't you? You get the choice of being elected from the Inner District teams."

Connie, who was on his knees beside me attending to his own cannon, began to say "That'd be nice, no doubt about it, but…" he then hesitated, looking for the right words to say.

"Togami's speech from yesterday was pretty moving," a boy I came to know recently as Chihiro placed a box beside me "I know he may seem selfish or cold, but he was right. Nothing comes easy, and if it does, it's probably not worth pining for anyway."

Connie turned towards the petite boy "No! It's him, Jean. I didn't want to find myself on the same team as that guy."

"Oh, well you could still opt to choose a team from the Inner District that Jean _wouldn't_ be in," innocently said Chihiro.

"Oh be quiet, you."

I squinted some at Connie. Something told me he didn't want to admit his decision was easily swayed by some preachy speech from a guy he didn't even know. Connie did make a lot of effort in showing his independence. So I guess this was easy to expect from him.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," continued Chihiro "Sometimes you know what the better choice is, but need a little encouragement from someone else to stick with it-" he seemed to take a quick glance at someone in the distance "-And you're not the only one who-"

"Excuse me, everyone!"

All of a sudden, Sasha was between us. Before I could even question her physical state (overly eager eyes, bouncing in excitement, weird grin), she opened up her jacket to reveal a plastic-wrapped roll of pork "I was able to steal some ham from the officers' provisions."

Quite possibly the worst sense of fear ignited my body, and judging from the banters to follow, I wasn't the only one.

"Sasha are you trying to get yourself hauled in an isolation cell?!"

"You're really stupid, you know that?"

"So dumb, it's scary."

Nonetheless, she still kept a dreamy smile on her face. This girl really loved food and I don't even think it's the "I'm a growing teenager" thing either.

"We can all share it later, slice it up, eat it with some bread…" she ended the statement with a blissfully greedy laugh and I could've sworn some drool was collecting in the corner of her lips.

"Go put it back," said Connie.

"He's right. With all the land we lost, meat is getting really hard to come by" said a red-eyed girl with equally red hair tied in a high ponytail by a bow.

At first, the red-head's words seemed to be valid enough to bring back Sasha's senses since she paused for a minute, but then she knelt down to the supply box with a "We'll be fine." I guessed she was placing the ham there for its safety. "We'll be able to have plenty more cows and sheep when we reconquer the land."

My response was a "Huh?" How could she say something so naive?

"Well, that makes sense," said Chihiro beside me "We can eat it in celebration for the recovery of Wall Maria, right? Once we've reclaimed the land, we'll have plenty of time to celebrate!"

Of course there was a pause after the surprisingly optimistic statement. I could feel Connie's skepticism behind me and I could see Sasha's agreeing smile from the corner of my eye.

"Chihiro…" a tall guy with purple eyes and honey colored hair extended in a very exaggerated bang approached him and placed a gentle yet apprehensive hand on his shoulder.

"M-Mondo..." the petite boy uttered his name in slight surprise, apparently unaware that he had arrived when Sasha announced her stealing.

The purple-eyed guy smiled warmly at Chihiro "I'll have some of that ham, too."

"I'll take some, too!" joined in the red-head.

Mondo smiled and began to walk back to his post and patted my back along the way "Don't just stand there, kid. The sooner we finish working, the sooner we get to eat."

The red-head made a sound of agreement and walked alongside Mondo to get back to her work post as well.

I watched their retreating figures, a feeling swelling inside me. I was unsure of what exactly it was, negative or positive, but I know it caused my fists to quake at my sides.

Looking out upon my teammates on the wall, I dove into the memory of when I was a kid.

Mikasa and I had just saved Armin from another batch of bullies after he was caught talking about the waters of the world. "Dammit," I remember saying "How come you get looked down upon just for saying you'd like to see what's out there?"

Five years have passed since then. At last, after losing one third of our territory and half our population, we, the human race can set out to recover our dignity. We'll win this. Now, it's time. Humanity will strike back.

* * *

[omniscient]

A flurry of freezing mist burst before the wall like some grand introduction to the giant fiend. Its emerald scaly skin held water droplets that shined wherever the sun could hit it. Fins slicked back where its ears should have been and its lipless mouth revealed a perfect set of yellow teeth accented with sharp canine fangs.

History repeated itself as the Colossal Water Titan returned to infuse fear into everyone.

Given only seconds, no one dare made a move or even an exclamation before another flurry of mist blew them all off of the wall's edge, tiny ice shards grazing their skin like bullets.

"It's freezing…?!" the shocked discovery escaped Eren's gritted teeth as he struggled to keep his footing, but alas, ended up being sent flying along with the others. In the fractions of a second he was falling, he caught glances of everyone's face in the mist; Connie, Chihiro, Gou, Mondo, Sasha. All held the same expression of fear that Eren could only guess he had one his face as well.

"Guys!" he heard Mondo's voice command "Switch to 3D Maneuver!"

As if his voice alone was enough to bring everyone to their senses, several tightly woven wires shot up into the sky and ceased their descent…with the exception of one.

"Gou…!"

The red-haired girl's unconscious body continued to fall as the blood from her head wound trailed a line behind her. But suddenly, Sasha came running down the wall at an incredible speed, disobeying all rules of gravity as she continued downward. She then launched on of her wires from her 3D maneuver gear and pierced Gou's foot with the metal spear.

Connie and Chihiro looked in awe as blood trickled from Gou's punctured foot.

"Gou! Stay still, you hear me!" Sasha called in case the girl were to regain consciousness at that moment. However, they still had a much larger problem ahead of them.

Eren, being the highest, struggled not to falter as the Water Titan's massive fingers gripped the wall, but soon, he realized what this action was insinuating.

The all-too familiar thundering crash of the wall's entrance resonated in Eren's ears once again.

_Blood._

_"I will wipe them out!"_

_"Erase them from this world…"_

_"Until not a single one remains!"_

_Mother._

"It's all happening again..." the words slithered from his mouth breathlessly as a nauseating mixture of fear and dread filled his body.

"Everyone!"

The teens looked up to see Rin running along the edge of the wall, preparing himself to attack the beast ahead.

"Four teams are one their way to ready the reinforced cannons! Prepare for battle!" he was pulling out his swords "Your objective lies straight ahead! Attack to Colossal Water Titan, now!"

Eren watched as Rin pulled the trigger and launched himself into the mixture of debris and mist.

Regaining his fighting spirit, Eren pulled out his own swords and ascended forward "Now's our chance! Don't let it get away!" he yelled at this still-paralyzed comrades "It's the only one capable of breaking the wall! We must put it down!" At first, he was feverish in his attempt to break the others out of their fear-induced trance, but after Eren flew out of the mist at met with the eyes of the beast, it felt as though the two were the only ones in existence.

One enemy against another.

"Hello, old friend…" he growled as the wind blew away the mist and his hair "I haven't seen you in five years."

* * *

[Rin Matsuoka]

I have never seen the Colossal Water Titan face to face or any Water Titan for that matter, but my ignorance did not need to get in the way of my goal. The idea that this was the murderer of my father and countless others did not need to get in the way of my goal. The fear in my veins did not need to get in the way of my goal.

I am a soldier whose responsibility is to stop this Water Titan from taking anymore lives. That's all I need to know.

I leaped into the air just in time as his giant fist pounded once again on the wall. I was able to aim my spear right on his forearm; the one he wasn't using. Of course, in the amount of time it took for him to react, I had already swung myself all the way around to his back, but I misinterpreted his actions and he reached out for me.

With another squeeze on the gas trigger to bring me higher, I retracted my wire and clamped both onto his other shoulder, bringing me to a very quick landing right beside his neck.

"Dammit."

However close I was to the target area, I knew it would be impossible to make a proper cut from this close. If I wanted any chance of slicing his neck, I would have to fly out to the right distance at the appropriate speed to get the right amount of force.

I leaped backwards from my left foot, shot a wire at the nape of his neck in mid-flip. In that fraction of a second, I had readied my swords.

I was so close.

I was so close to my first kill.

"Ahh!" I cried out as another burst of mist suddenly shot at me. It was almost enough force to push me back! But I couldn't quit now. No matter how much speed I had just lost. No matter how much my sights were now clouded. No matter how painful the microscopic shards of ice of my face were, I held my position; ready for the kill.

I cried out again, this time as a battle cry in preparation for the energy about to be exerted, but then…

"What?!"

Another male voice pierced my ears. That was the last thing I heard before I crashed my skull against another.

* * *

[Makoto Tachibana]

"Rin!" I screamed as I ran up to the scene, feeling the crumbling wall beneath my feet and the freezing air left of the Water Titan's mist "Rin! Are you okay?!"

I stopped just between a few people, only recognizing a few.

"Where's Rin?" I asked a green-eyed girl with short light brown hair.

"Matsuoka-san?" she questioned "I think he killed the Water Titan, but Eren went out to attack it at the same time. I saw them crash into each other…"

My breath caught in my throat and I ran up to the very edge, getting on my knees and leaning over, not even caring if I fell right over.

There, I saw the unconscious bodies of Rin and the boy I guessed was Eren tangled in their wires, which had latched onto the wall and left them dangling just about three meters below me.

"Rin! Don't worry, I'll come get yo-" I gasped when my eyes caught something below them: more Water Titans.

They were going inside.

The Water Titans were going right through the wall.

Did...did it break?!

"The wall has been breached!" I screamed over my shoulder "Tell the superiors we have to block it before the Water Titans infiltrate the city!"

A boy I knew as Ishimaru rushed to us "Engage the Special Colossal Water Titan strategy. Assume positions at once!," he ordered with powerful authority "Whoever made physical contact with the Water Titan, report to the headquarters now!"

Connie and the girl saluted him "Right!"

I looked back at the city, immediately hearing sounds of the central bell ringing and the panicked voices of the community behind that of the organized military.

* * *

[Makoto Tachibana]

"Unfortunately, our veteran members are out on a large scale expedition," said Ishimaru as we made our way to one of the bases "Even as trainees, we've passed the qualification test. That makes us full-fledged soldiers. Our seniors are holding high hopes for our performance. Let's give them something to be proud of when they come back."

"Yes," I said, but my mind was still on the safety of Rin. Had he or Eren not latched on to the wall, they would've fallen and died on impact, or worse, in the clutches of a Water Titan.

Inside the base, Ishimaru departed my side and dove into the crowd of shaken trainees to help give orders, silencing the panicked youths as he recited the same instructions as he did on the wall.

"It's going to be okay, Asahina. I'll look out for you until the very end, even if it's the last thing I do."

"Sakura..."

A knot formed in my gut upon hearing this piece of dialogue. Something about it seemed too close to home, too familiar.

The rustling of the crowd setting out to perform Ishimaru's orders broke me out of my uncomfortable trance.

"Nitori, are you okay?!"

I jumped at the sound of the sudden exclamation from the blonde boy kneeling on the floor beside me. He and a silver-haired boy were refilling their gas tanks, but the one known as Nitori was fumbling terribly.

"I-I'm fine! Everything's going to be fine!" he stuttered. He then gulped "Sti-still, we're in big trouble this time! We have an eight meter high hole at the gate that can't be closed easily. They said they found a boulder big enough for it, but it turns out we can't even move it!"

"What?" I gasped.

The boy continued to rattle off as he hurriedly fixed the gas tank "With the hole still there, the Water Titans will wipe out all of Wall Rose just like they did Wall Maria! It's only a matter of time before-"

"Nitori!" the blonde boy with a bowl cut placed his hands around him "Calm down, please. I'm scared too, but we can't jump to the worst case scenario."

For a moment, Nitori was silent, but then he said in a calm voice "You're right, Armin. I'm sorry…"

* * *

[omniscient]

"The drill is the same as it was during training. Everyone split up into appropriate groups of five. Leave no one alone! Abide by your seniors' instructions. Your tasks are to transmit information and keep the town free of Water Titans. The stationary guards will take care of civilians. Report any injured soldiers to headquarters. We shall protect Wall Rose with our lives until every last citizen has escaped to safety. Dismissed!"

"Sir!"

The moment everyone dispersed, Jean doubled over in a low groan "Why today?!" he complained "I would've been in the Inner District tomorrow! Couldn't the Colossal Bastard wait an extra day?"

Haruka threw an indifferent glare at the brunette and tapped his 3D maneuver gear with his knuckles to make sure it was proper. Suddenly, that hand was embraced by another.

"If things get rough in battle, come to me," Makoto rasped in all seriousness.

"Huh?" questioned the black-haired male as he looked up "Aren't you going on Mikasa's team?"

"Listen to me, Haru."

The teen's blue eyes wavered upon seeing his friend with so much sobriety in his face.

"I'll need to protect you."

At first Haruka stared in awe at the brunette, but the female voice in question summoned him over.

"Makoto Tachibana," Mikasa called as the rest of her chosen teammates headed in one direction "Come on, we're going to the rear guard, now."

The urgency in her voice was enough to shake both boys.

Makoto's green eyes lowered in reluctance "Be safe," he uttered.

Haruka looked him dead in the eyes and replied "_You_ be safe," this caused the brunette to lift his gaze up to him "Don't die worrying about me."

"Tachibana!" this time, Mikasa had walked over and grabbed the boy "We can't waste a single second."

Haruka eyed Makoto's leaving trail, making sure he didn't stop or turn around in hesitance.

* * *

[omniscient]

"_I still don't know what the waters of the world are like,_" he thought "_Our water here is contained and limited, but I know that's not how it should be. Water is meant to run free, endlessly and infinitely._"

Sakura's team stood at different positions on the roof, all arranged to look out upon the entire city for any signs from their teammates or the enemy.

"Water Titans, huh?…"

Asahina's blue eyes traveled to the dark-haired teen beside her, questioning whether it was the wind in her ears or his breathy voice she had just heard.

"They're selfish bastards aren't they?" he continued in a low voice "Taking all of the water for themselves." Haruka never inclined his head in any direction to imply his words were meant for any ears other than his own "Don't they think humans equally appreciate the feeling of water of their skin? To be submerged in the cool, clean feeling?"

"To swim?"

Haruka's attention went to Asahina, who had said the phrase.

"You…you also like the idea of being able to swim one day?" she asked him.

He hesitated, then his eyes regained their indifferent gaze and returned to the city in front of him "Sometimes I…yeah. I know it's dumb, seeing as water is nothing to waste, but sometimes I just wonder what it would be like at times."

"It's not dumb," encouraged Asahina as she scooted closer to the dark-haired boy "I swam once, when I was a child. It's an amazing experience!"

Haruka looked back at her with wondrous eyes.

"Sure, Water Titans still exist," she said "Humans don't have their gills or fins and yes, we can drown, but I don't believe that means humans aren't meant to swim."

"A…Asahina…" Haruka uttered the name of the girl in enchantment. Never would he have ever thought someone shared the same ridiculous dreams that he did.

Sakura stepped between them "There's a Water Titan approaching northwest. We have to move out."

"Right!" said Asahina as she jumped to her feet.

* * *

**So just to clarify, what happened here is basically all of the adults (veterans) are gone and the kids (trainees) are assigning each other leader positions only for the moment. People who are more level-headed like Ishimaru (as emotional as he gets in the anime, he's a pro at authority), Sakura and Mikasa are taking the leader role.**

**Also, I'd like to point out that because we're using different points of view, some characters may see others differently. Notice how Eren knew right off that bat that Chihiro was a boy but Makoto thought he was a girl.**

**And I'm sure you're already aware of how large of a cast we have, so that's why I replaced some of the background characters from SnK with that of Dangan Ronpa and Free! (Gou/Mina Carolina, Chihiro/Thomas Wagner, Mondo/Samuel). That doesn't meant those characters aren't in this universe. That just means their roles got transferred.**


End file.
